The return of the business sector expansion of economic activity continues.
The increase in revenue in commerce and services industries reflects a recovery in private consumption.
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The Melnick State of the Israeli Economy Index rose by 0.3 percent in March 2021. The rise in the Index reflects the return of the business sector expansion of economic activity. However, as can be seen from Diagram 1, the level of economic activity is more than 2 percent below the level of activity on the eve of the pandemic outbreak. There is an increase in the revenue of commerce and services, which reflects domestic demand and especially private consumption. The recovery of private consumption continues. The imports index, which consists mainly of inputs to domestic production, continues to expand, indicating optimism about economic activity growth in 2021. The sharp decline in employee posts in the business sector in January reflects the effect of the third lockdown, which will adversely affect the decline in unemployment.
The components of the March Index include: a decrease of 1.1% in the industrial production index in February, after a decrease of 1.2% in January; a 0.8% increase in revenue from commerce and services in February after a 0.7% increase in January; an increase of 4.1% in the import index in March, after a decrease of 0.9% in February and a decrease of 5.6% in the number of employee posts in the business sector in January, after an increase of 2.5% in December.
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